The Many Faces of Revenge
by Typo Goblin
Summary: This is a continuation of my last story with Nanao and Shunsui. I realized that I didn't like, at all, where I'd left off with the assassin story line so here's my fix-it. I will be posting the chapters as I write them so let me know how I'm doing!
1. A Bruised Ego

_Although Nanao was known to be grumpy at times, it was rare that she snapped at anyone but her Taichou. Today, however, as she walked with purpose toward her squad's headquarters, she barely looked at anyone. The only time she did give someone notice was to glare at them for their cheerful greeting. Something they immediately regretted. _

_The eighth squad had been given their orders earlier that morning, the cause for her distress. Since they had been the squad to dispatch of the assassin, they were the ones who would be heading the investigation to find out where he'd come from. Although he had survived the battle against Shunsui and Nanao, he had yet to give them any useful information._

_The detention and extraction of information from the assassin had been left to the Taichou of the 12__th__ squad. He'd failed to keep his headquarters secure and allowed himself to be attacked and incapacitated. This was his punishment. A punishment that he continually complained of. Constantly blabbering about it being the duty of the second squad, especially if he wasn't going to be allowed to use the man for experiments of his own choosing. _

_Nanao was in no mood for his complaints, especially not today. She caught sight of him walking toward her, the tiny Nemu walking submissively behind him. She knew that he was coming to ask her to take the assassin off her hands again. It was their investigation so they should want him under their roof. _

_She stopped abruptly and walked toward him. There was a purpose and drive in her eyes that made even the steadfast ego of Mayuri start. When he opened his mouth to speak, her hand shot up. He blinked in surprise. _

"_Shut up. I don't want to hear it, Kurotsuchi Taichou. He was given to you and you're just going to have to deal with that. I don't have time to stand here and argue with you on the subject of your childish complaints. Now, get out of my way." _

_She growled and walked around him, resisting the urge to hit him with her shoulder as she walked past. She could feel a definite chill descend around her, making her stop. _

"_Fukutaichou, is this how you address a man of higher rank?" He asked, his voice low, dangerous. A clear reprimand, trying to regain some of his bruised ego. _

_Again, she wasn't in the mood. She spun on her heel and glared at him from over her glasses. "With all due respect, Kurotsuchi Taichou, you are a man above me in rank -only-." She bit out. "I would appreciate it in the future if you would only bother me with important matters. I am a -very- busy woman and I don't have time for your petty bickering. Every word that comes out of your mouth serves only two purposes. To either intimidate or annoy. You can't intimidate me, but you annoy me a great deal. I'm telling you right now. Stay away from me unless you have something useful to say. Something deserving of a Taichou." _

_She walked away quickly before he could say anything else, though she could feel the cold air around her darken with anger. He was probably too flustered to say anything. She knew that she would regret her words later, but for right now-_

_-It felt really, really good._

_The afternoon was already fading by the time her words came back to haunt her. Her own Taichou came into the office, his eyes hidden by the rim of his wide hat. He was tisking softly as he gently took her hand, forcing her stop sorting papers. _

"_Love of my life, my dear hearted Nanao-chan. Why would you do such a thing?" He asked quietly, making his dark eyes barely visible as he regarded her. _

_She snapped her hand away and began to shuffle papers once more. "I knew that horrid man would complain like a little body. He had it coming." She said quickly, her voice cold. _

"_Of course, he's had it coming for centuries, that doesn't mean you should lower yourself to his level and give it to him." He said gently. "He isn't really a man you'd like to cross." He warned. _

"_I just wasn't in the mood for it. Like I'm not in the mood for this." She said sharply. _

"_What has come over you, Nanao-chan?" _

_She turned toward him, purple eyes piercing his very soul. She wanted to make sure that he fully understood what had come over her. _

"_Do you have -any- idea how hard it's going to be keeping an eye on you in the living world?!" She asked, planting her hands on her hips. _

"_I promise to behave." He swore, giving her his best, devilish grin. _

"_Right." She said, rolling her eyes. Like she couldn't see through that. _

_Resting his large hands on her slim shoulders, he pleaded for her to look up at him with his eyes. He was rewarded with her level gaze. She was trying to calm down. _

"_Nanao, I swear to you, I will not disappoint you. You may think that I don't understand how hard you work, how much you do for our squad, but I do. I won't make your life any harder. Besides, normally I would have just gone out to chase skirts. I don't need to do that anymore." He said with a wink. With a heavy sigh, Nanao nodded. "Dear Nanao-chan. Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?" He requested gently. _

"_It's this whole assassin assignment. Of the information Kurotsuchi was able to give me about the assassin, I haven't found anything in the libraries. On top of that, he's refusing me access to his records. He said that they've been combed through and there wasn't anything relevant."_

"_To be honest, your actions earlier today won't be buying your way into his good graces any time soon. Besides, I don't quite understand, Nanao-chan. Are you upset that you couldn't find anything?" _

"_No." She said quickly, looking down at her feet. "Of course not, that would be silly. It isn't my fault that the information isn't there. I'm annoyed that…that…." She sputtered slightly. _

"_Sweet, flowery Nanao-chan. Do not fear. Your secret is safe with me. Please do not think of it as a short coming. You yourself just said it. It isn't your fault that the information isn't there for you to find. We just got the orders to head the investigation this morning. The fact that you couldn't find anything, especially with one or the more extensive branches of the library destroyed, is not at all surprising. You're good, Nanao-chan, but no one is -that- good." _

_She sighed and opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. "No more about it. We have a lot of packing to do, you and I." Releasing her shoulders, he stepped back and slid his hands into his sleeves. "And while you're doing that, I'm going to go speak to our travel companions." He grinned, and headed out of the office. _

"_Taichou!" She fairly yelled at his retreating back. It was no use. He was gone, leaving her to pack for the both of them by herself. Things were getting back to normal and in some small way, that was a comfort. _

_Nanao struggled with the last piece of luggage, tossing it onto the pile that had gathered before the Senkai gate, all the while bitterly watching her Taichou hold an idle conversation with his good friend. Ukitake Taichou had come to see them off. Wiping her brow, she planted her hands on her hips and cleared her throat. _

_He glanced over at her and smiled. "Nanao-chan, you are the best fukutaichou a man could ask for." _

"_Why aren't you dressed for the living world?" She asked, like a mother addressing an attention deficit child. _

"_I was just getting some advice from Ukitake." He grinned, moving toward her to take her hand and brush a gentle kiss on her knuckles. She forced herself to react with annoyance, though the touch of his lips melted her heart. It was sweet how he used actions like that to remind her when they were in public that she still held a special place in his heart. _

"_Well next time, less idle chatter and more helping with the luggage." She snapped, pulling her hand away. "All of that stuff is heavy." She admonished. _

_His black eyes sparkled as he bowed to her. "Of course, Nanao-chan." _

_With another exasperated sigh, she rolled her eyes. "Impossible." She muttered under her breath, looking over at the other two who were assigned to accompany them to the living world. _

_Hitsugya Taichou and his fukutaichou Matsumoto, had spent a fair amount of time there, so they were the reasonable choice. Matsumoto was giggling happily and bouncing around as she followed her Taichou. She was, rather melodically, speaking of all the wonderful things she would do and buy while her Taichou was masterfully ignoring her. That child's patience was truly a sight to behold. _

"_Hitsugya Taichou." Nanao greeted with a bow, nodding as well to Matsumoto who was paying no attention to anyone else. She was clearly lost in her excitement. _

"_I'm glad you're coming, Ise." He greeted in return. There was slightly more emotion in his tone than usually displayed. His relief at another level headed Shinigami going on their trip was apparent. _

"_Toushiro!" Shunsui greeted with his trademark lazy grin. _

"_Kyoraku." He returned with his flat tone. "I assume you're ready to leave?" _

_Apparently he'd caught a bit of the earlier conversation regarding his packing diligence. Nanao nodded and answered for him. _

"_Everything is ready. We can leave imm-."_

"_Nanao_!" Matsumoto exclaimed, pressing one hand to her ample chest. "How adorable!" She squealed, running over to the surprised woman and picking at her clothes as she examined them. "You took my advice, I'm so happy! You look so stunning in khakis with that little lilac top! It even has flowers on it! It makes your eyes sparkle. Aww, you're gonna turn heads!" She continued to squeal. 

Nanao smiled gracefully but mostly followed Hitsugya Taichou's example and let the words go in one ear and out the other. "Thank you Matsumoto. I don't know very much about the living world so I had no choice but to follow your advice. I had hoped you wouldn't lead me astray." She returned. 

It didn't take long for her Taichou to return, fully dressed for the living world. He wore plain black slacks and a pastel pink shirt, hidden slightly by a black sports jacket. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked him over. 

Pulling the pairing of flowers out of the tie in his hair, he pushed them behind one of her ears and smiled at her. 

"We can leave now, Nanao-chan." He grinned, happily looking over at the two Shinigami who guarded the Senkai gate. "We can leave now." He ordered, waving a figure to indicate that they should begin the process. Finally, they could get the investigation under way. 

Mayuri was still sore from the encounter with the feisty fukutaichou earlier in the morning. She had pushed all of the right buttons to put him in a foul mood. Feeling rather like making someone else suffer for his miserable mood, he descended the dark, cold staircase into the lower levels of his lab. The assassin was where he'd left him, tied to a steel table, unable to move an inch. 

"Do you feel like talking yet? I'm sure no one would mind if you suddenly were to…expire?" The scientist asked with no small amount of disdain in his voice. He gently scraped the man's cheek with one clawed finger. 

"Death would be welcome to being kept here any longer. Damn your little puppy. Following you around and throwing herself in danger for you. What sort of man allows a woman to protect him?" The man growled. 

"One who still lives. Besides," He waved a hand dismissively. "She is expendable. Better to lose such a small object than allow the world to continue without my genius." Mayuri rambled. 

"Do you feel any remorse at all for the people you hurt? Even those close to you?" The assassin asked. 

Mayuri looked over his shoulder at the man tied down to the table, yellow eyes unblinking as they stared. "No." He said simply. 

"You don't even know me. Do you?" The voice, filled with hatred came from between tightly clenched teeth. 

"I've never seen you before in my life." Mayuri scoffed. 

"Of course, you wouldn't remember. But I remember. I remember all to well the part you played in my personal hell." The assassin fairly spat. 

"What are you talking about?" Mayuri asked with a curious stare. 

The assassin's eyes bore into him for a few seconds before he stared up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. Silence was the only answer Mayuri would receive. That, of course, only made his mood more foul. With a blow to the head hard enough to knock him out, the assassin was left in the silent darkness. The only company he would have when he woke was the lingering hatred that had flowed off of Mayuri's being as he left. 


	2. Unexpected Detour

-1**** SPOILER WARNING****

****If you haven't finished watching or reading the Bount Arc, please don't read any further!****

When the four arrived at the Urahara candy shop, it was dark and quiet. The large Shunsui carried one piece of luggage under each arm and one in each hand, at the request of Nanao who complained that she'd carried all of it, one piece at a time from headquarters to the Senkai gate. At the still sight of the shop, he dropped them on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, this doesn't look promising." Matsumoto commented, disappearing and reappearing a moment later after scouting around the small shop. "The van is gone." She reported.

Hitsugaya sighed walked up the small steps, briskly knocking on the door. A small closed sign hung crookedly off to one side. At the knock, a small piece of paper fell from behind the sign and fluttered to the small Taichou's feet. Picking it up and unfolding the delicate paper, his ice blue eyes scanned the messy scrawl quickly.

"They've gone to the beach." He said, a small hint of annoyance in his voice. "For another three days." He let the paper flutter down to the ground again. "It looks like we might have to find other lodgings until he gets back."

Matsumoto immediately began to jump up and down. "I'm going to go stay at Inoue's house!" She cried and grabbed her bags from the pile near Shunsui and was gone. Just like that.

Nanao blinked, looking at the space she had previously been occupying for a few moments. "I take it she enjoys imposing on Inoue?"

Toushiro nodded as he joined them on the front lawn once more. "Ise, you would perhaps being more comfortable staying with the Kurosaki family." He suggested.

Shunsui glanced over, slightly surprised. "Really, you think so?"

Nodding solemly, Toushiro gathered his small bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Rukia received a very warm welcome there on many occasions and has been quite safe under their roof. Since our usual temporary lodgings are unavailable, our only other choice is to return to Soul Society. I would rather not have to make a second trip at a later date."

"Would you like us to accompany you to his clinic?" Shunsui asked, picking up the last two pieces of luggage. "It isn't very far from here and Ichigo should be home from school by now." He guessed.

Nanao shook her head and rolled up her sleeves slightly. Pulling her hair into a tight bun, she used the delicate flower pins that he'd given her for safe keeping to keep it all in place. "No, the walk will do me good. Where will you be staying if something should arise?"

The taller captain looked down at Toushiro then smiled reassuringly at his fukutaichou. "Don't worry about us. We will find our own places to stay."

Nodding, she took her bag from him and offered a rare smile to the two Taichous. Bowing slightly, she turned and walked away. Much information about the substitute Shinigami and his friends had been added to the library, including their places of current residence. It came in quite handy for times like this.

The clinic was a bit smaller than she expected, but it looked like it was quiet most of the time. That was a great relief. She didn't realize that she'd been staring until a little girl walked up to her, carrying grocery bags in each hand.

"Can I help you miss?" She asked sweetly, looking up at Nanao and squinting in the sun slightly.

"Oh, yes." She said, a bit startled. "I'm looking for Kurosaki Ichigo. This is his place of residence, correct?"

She nodded and smiled brightly. "You know my big brother?" She happily waved Nanao into the house, bags rustling. "Ichigo!" She called, hefting the large bags onto the table. Politely removing her shoes, Nanao set her bag down by the door and out of the way.

She heard the heavy foot fall on the stairs and turned to see the young man's surprised look. His eyes widened and he took a up a defensive stance.

"What are you doing here!?!" He yelled, making his younger sister jump in surprise.

"Ichigo! That isn't nice." She admonished.

He ignored Yuzu and pointed at her. "I asked what you were doing here!" He yelled at the slightly surprised Nanao.

"Actually, I was hoping for a place to stay." She said, level headed and now unperturbed by his reaction to her presence.

"Why are you guys always bothering me? Why don't you go stay with that old hat and clogs?"

"He isn't around at the moment, otherwise I wouldn't have asked. I am sorry to impose on you, but Rukia said that we could count on you if we were in a pinch. If it's too much trouble, I can go." She offered gently.

He just looked at her a few moments before he growled and relaxed. "No…it's fine. But you can't sleep in my closet."

Nanao was a bit surprised at that. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to sleep there in the first place.

"Thank you, Kurosaki." She said gratefully, relieved he'd relaxed and allowed her to stay.

"We can put you in one of the patient rooms." He offered, leading her up stairs, obviously uncomfortable in her presence.

He gave her a rather nice room and after thanking him politely, unpacked some of her things. He really was such a nice young man, she thought to herself. Looking out the window, she wondered where her Taichou had found shelter for the next few days. Although he'd assured her they would be fine, she still worried. It was her job to worry for her Taichou and her inclination to worry for the man she loved.

The two Taichou watched her go, something that was rather hard for Shunsui. He wanted to make sure she was safe and only felt she was completely so if she was with him. He didn't like being separated from his tiny Nanao-chan.

"So…where are we going to stay?" Shunsui asked curiously.

Toushiro shrugged slightly. "I haven't decided yet."

"We could break in." He suggested in a very offhand way.

Toushiro looked up at him sharply.

"Or not." He raised his shoulders and put up his hands defensively. "It was just a suggestion."

Ichigo's father had, of coursed, approved. He knew immediately what the small woman was and that there must be more shinigami hiding nearby. It worried him slightly. Something always went wrong when Soul Society began nosing around the living world. He couldn't turn this woman away though. She was quite powerful and could take care of herself. Also, many of the Shinigami he'd come across had been aware of the dangers their presence brought and took steps to protect innocents in their battles. Still, it made him a little nervous.

It kept him up late that night, sitting alone in the dark kitchen, sipping a cup of tea. He stared at the large picture of his wife in the next room, wondering how she would have taken their current life. If she would have accepted Ichigo and Karin's powers, or his for that matter.

The knock at the door brought him out of his speculations. It was all a thought exercise, he would never know for sure what his lovely wife would have thought. Leaving his luke warm tea, he went to the main door of the clinic. He could feel before he got there that he knew who the man was.

"Kyoraku, long time no see." He greeted, leaning his shoulder against the frame of the door. He was almost the same height as the tall man, allowing him to meet him eye to eye.

"Indeed, Kurosaki. I'm here to check on my fukutaichou and see how you have been." He said with an amazingly serious tone.

"Ah, so she's your fukutaichou. I figured she was a higher seated officer. I should have connected the flowers in her hair. I'm slipping in my old age. You can come in." He said, a bit reluctantly. It was awkward talking to a former peer after his leaving.

"Thank you. And thank you for allowing her to stay. I'm glad she has somewhere comfortable and safe to sleep. We will be out of your way in a couple of days." He promised, sitting down at the table across from Isshin.

"Are you intending to stay as well?"

"No. Just Nanao-chan." He said, idly leaning back on one hand. "I thought I would stop by and see if you might be able to help us."

"Will Ichigo be involved in this?"

"No, not at all. The danger has passed. We're just looking for information right now." He assured the worried father quickly, waving a hand. He once again recounted the events of the last week, asking if he'd seen or heard anything.

"I'm afraid not. Everything has been surprisingly calm. Ichigo hasn't been running off with any sorry excuses, so I haven't had a chance to bring out my zanpakuto in a while."

Shunsui nodded slightly, thinking a moment. "Well, I do appreciate you keeping an eye out. We'll try and bother you as little as possible in the future." He promised, standing. "Again, thank you for looking after my sweet Nanao-chan."

"Not a problem." He said, his tone suggesting that if it should be come a problem…

"She won't be. She's very sweet and mild mannered. She won't give, or attract, any trouble at all." Shunsui assured him, straightening out his jacket. "And I won't be a problem either. It was good to see you again, Kurosaki."

"You as well, Kyoraku." Standing, Isshin walked with him to the door. "Tell the guys I said hello."

He nodded and turned to say his final farewells. "Ukitake will be pleased to hear that you're doing well. Take care." He waved before walking off into the night.

"My goodness you're an early riser. Not even my dear little Yuzu wakes this early to make breakfast."

With a gasp, Nanao spun around to find Ichigo's father standing at the bottom of the stairs. She'd already put on a pot of water for tea. "Excuse me. I'm very sorry. I didn't think anyone would mind if I had some tea." She said, bowing low. She knew who he was, of course. They had met before, very briefly, but she doubted he'd remembered who she was.

"No, no. A cute little thing like you? No need to worry. Our home is your home." He grinned. "Mind if I join you, Ms. Fukutaichou?"

Nanao blinked slightly and nodded, a bit surprised.

"Your Taichou came to see me last night."

Sitting while they waited, Nanao leaned against the table slightly. "He mentioned that he'd known you before you'd left Soul Society. I wasn't sure if you would have remembered me or not."

"I knew you were a shinigami, and a high ranked one at that, but I couldn't put your face to the woman I'd met before I left. I'm ashamed I couldn't remember such a pretty face."

Nanao blushed gently and nodded in thanks at the compliment. "I won't be intruding for long, but I appreciate you opening your home to me. I know that our presence here must make you uneasy. I won't let any harm come to your family. As soon as Urahara returns, I will be out of your hair."

"As I said, your no trouble at all. Besides, Urahara and his group needed the vacation. I would rather spend a few days with a pretty lady than have him be bothered."

She nodded slightly and started to get up to attend to the tea. Raising a hand quickly, he waved her back down. "Please, allow me. I'm rather curious to hear about the goings on in Soul Society."

"I would be happy to tell you." She offered, accepting the tea cup he handed her.

Sitting down, they spoke for several hours together, a casual exchange of information. It would be a much faster passing of days than she thought. Pleasant even. Perhaps their visit would be fun after all. It was only a matter of time until Matsumoto forced her to go shopping. Until then she would enjoy the rare, pleasant company.


	3. The Choice Between Safety and Happiness

-1Urahara was sitting on his front porch with the two Taichou and fukutaichou from Soul Society. They'd been waiting for him when he returned, still in his swimming trunks. They were green and white striped, to match his hat. Naturally, the shopkeeper had taken it all in stride. He'd ordered the two kids to unpack the van, under the supervision of Tessai while Yoruichi went to wash the sand out of her hair. The whole group looked blissfully tired from their vacation.

"That is quite interesting." He mused, rubbing his chin between his forefinger and thumb. "I'm glad you caught him. To be honest, part of our decision to take a vacation was to place ourselves out of harms way." Urahara admitted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Shunsui was leaning back against the railing, eyes partially closed, as if he might fall asleep. The breeze gently brushed at his hair, making it sway against his cheek. "Understandable. I'm sure it was quite romantic as well." He grinned, wagging an eye brow as he looked up at Urahara.

"Indeed." Urahara grinned devilishly in return.

Nanao sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand. "There's two of them." She groaned under her breath to Histugaya. She could see his sad nod out of the corner of her eye.

"My sweet Yoruichi in a bikini, oh! It makes you want to drool." Urahara grinned, sitting down on a porch chair and closing his eyes, obviously remembering the sight. "And to think, she tried to be modest and wear a t-shirt over the cute little ensamble." He tisked softly.

"Oh, dear. I can imagine. I wish I could get my little Nanao-chan to wear a two piece. Wouldn't she look just darling in white beaded bikini?" Shunsui mused to himself, obviously trying to elicit some help from the shopkeeper in convincing her to wear such an outfit.

"Can we _please_ keep on topic?" Nanao groaned, her cheeks a deep red color.

"Can you think of anyone who might hold a grudge against Soul Society in general and you in particular?" Hitsugaya asked, reminding them of just what that topic was.

"Well of course. I was the former leader of the Detention Unit. Essentially a prison warden. Lots of people hated me." Urahara casually mentioned. "Many of those I was in charge of keeping would have a major grudge against Soul Society in general. I'm afraid you've just dumped a pile of hay over your needle."

Nanao sighed and hugged one arm to her chest, resting the other on it to tap her chin thoughtfully. "I don't think it will be that bad. I can look back through the records and cross reference the prisoners while you were in charge with those who are still incarcerated and we can work from there. Perhaps we can narrow down the list a little." She mused, mostly to herself.

Shunsui grinned and pulled her against him, picking her up and smothering her against his chest. "I knew my brilliant Nanao-chan would think of something." He said happily, rocking her back and forth quickly.

Gasping for breath, she pushed away from him and backed off to stand against the wall of the shop, adjusting her glasses quickly. "Taichou, please." She flattened her clothing and adjusted her hair.

"Until then, why don't you stay the night?" Urahara invited. "Take a small break. I might think of something before you leave. Perhaps an individual who held more disdain for me than the others. Yoruichi might be a valuable asset as well." He offered, inviting them all inside.

The day went by quickly with the three old acquaintances chatting. Matsumoto had gone back to Inoue's, intending to force her to go shopping and get in as much as she could before they headed back. Hitsugaya and Nanao helped the other three unpack and begin laundry and dinner. Eventually, Hitsugaya retired to the large training room beneath the shop for some peace and quiet. Nanao eventually retired as well, borrowing the shop keepers study for some reading.

It was late before her Taichou came in to wish her goodnight. He sat down beside her on a cushion, glancing over her shoulder at what she was reading. Sliding an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her under the protection of his body.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Nanao-chan. You've been staying up later than usual studying something. What is it?" He asked curiously, nuzzling the top of her head.

"Advanced Kido. It is what I, by far, accel at and in the upcoming fight with Aizen, I want to be able to keep on the level." She said absently, ignoring his little affectionate gestures.

"Don't you think you would be better suited for a support position?" He asked gently.

"Taichou, are you trying to tell me that I've been transferred to the fourth squad?" She asked, still a bit distracted, not worried in the slightest that this might be the case.

"No, not medical support. I was thinking more perhaps, informational support. Stay away from the front lines and give the rest of us information."

Pausing in her reading, Nanao looked up at him. "Taichou? I pray that you aren't asking me to stay behind."

His long fingers brushed down her cheek. "Nanao-chan. I want to make sure you're safe. I would feel better if you weren't in direct danger. You know just as well as the rest of us what Aizen is capable of."

"Taichou, I could never just stay behind and wait. I am a fukutaichou and completely capable of defending myself. It is my job to protect you as much as it is your job to protect me. Other fukutaichous will be beside their Taichou. How can you ask me to do otherwise?" She asked, clearly hurt by his suggestion.

"Nanao-chan…" He floundered for words. "I can't risk your life like that. You are far too valuable an asset to the squads in general to risk."

She moved away from him, openly angry. "You can't seriously believe that!" She yelled, slamming the book down on Urahara's desk as she stood, looking down at him, though just barely. "I am going to fight with my Taichou." She said with a note of finality.

"No, Nanao-chan. You are not." He said gently. In his mind, he was doing the right thing. "Even if it means losing you, Nanao."

She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't come up with the words. Instead, she pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, as if she was tired. "Fine." She whispered, sliding them back on and leaving the room. With a sad sigh, Shunsui shook his head and lifted his weight up from the floor. Perhaps his decision had meant losing her. He would see when she cooled down.

Or, more accurately, _if _she cooled down.

"You told her she couldn't fight…didn't you?"

Shunsui looked over his shoulder as the shopkeeper climbed to the peak of the roof and sat down beside him.

"Of course I did. She's a scholar, not a fighter. Sure, she can hold her own, she wouldn't be where she is if she couldn't. But what we'll be facing in the future is greater than she is. Far more dangerous a foe than she could imagine." He shook his head slightly.

"In all honesty, isn't it far greater than you, than all of you? Do any of us fully understand what we're going up against. In some part I contributed to this predicament and I don't fully understand what will happen."

"Look, I'm not going to be the one to tell you how to run your squad, or your love life. All I know is that the most important person in my universe is down in that shop, sleeping sweetly with not a care in the world. I want to protect her from every harm and evil. But, I know that I can't do that."

"There are going to be times when I can't protect her. I'm going to make damn sure that when that time comes, I won't have to worry about losing her. Besides, I couldn't stop her if I wanted to. She wants to fight, she wants to help me. She wants to protect me too. Nothing I say is going to make her sit here and wait for me while I'm out putting my life on the line." He stated calmly.

"I see a lot of that in your little Nanao-chan." He observed, looking over at the big man. "Do you think she could sit at home and wait while you fought the worst enemy to ever face Soul Society? That would be torture, worse than death. She would find a way to be by your side, weither you like it or not. And when she does that, you won't be able to protect her. So, you'd better make sure that you've taken care of the most important person in your world before you lose her. Teach her, train her, do whatever you have to do to ensure that when the inevitable day comes, the day when you can't protect her from everything, she'll be ready to face it. To face it, defeat it and come home to yell at you."

"You have to face it, Kyoraku. It's just the way women are." Urahara nodded, as if he had the opposite gender all figured out. "And yours is feisty and full of fire. She's going to do everything she can to protect you, Kyoraku. Why can't you just take it as a compliment and move on? Think about it." His eyes glinted from under the striped hat as he stood. Flipping open his fan, he grinned. "Good night!"

Shunsui sat up on the roof for a little while longer before retiring to the room he shared with Toushiro. His sleep was fitful and he woke tired. Urahara and Nanao had both given him a great deal to think about. He knew he would have to chose between her safety and her happiness, but it was not an easy thing to do.

As they packed for their return, Nanao was silent and closed off. She barely said two words to him, keeping her answers short and concise. Matsumoto tried to cheer her up, showing her all of the wonderful things that she had bought during her shopping trip with Inoue. She'd bought a few dresses and trinkets for Nanao, which she gracefully accepted, but otherwise didn't comment. All four of the officers returned to Seireitei surly and withdrawn. Nanao immediately went to their headquarters and dove into her paper work. She had a lot of research to do on the prisoners under the care of the second squad as well as the paper work that would inevitably be waiting from their four day trip.

Shunsui took care of the unpacking in a rare show of manual labor. He had made his decision but it would take her a while to find out. It seemed she was more sore at him then he'd first thought and that made him more depressed then he'd first thought.

She'd been annoyed with him before, even angry, but never this angry. It made his chest ache and ate away at him. Of all of their bickering and teasing, it had been how they connected. It was a form of affection for them, more so as of late. She truly was what kept him together and he couldn't imagine her leaving him. He'd already lost one fukutaichou in a brutal manner. He couldn't bare to lose a second in any manner.

Nanao was equally as torn. She was working very hard to keep up her fury. It was easy after all the practice she'd had over the years. He could be an infuriating man, but she had to admit, he'd made a lot of changes for her. More of the paperwork was being done and he'd lowered the time set aside for both drinking and napping. He'd stopped fraternizing with other women altogether.

She knew that he was completely devoted to her. Deep down, she knew that his decision to keep her from the front lines had stemmed from that, but she still didn't like it. Nanao had worried that their work relationship might suffer with their private relationship but she now had no way of knowing if he might have come to the same decision otherwise, but it didn't matter now.

She stayed extra late to finish all of her paper work and hadn't so much as seen a pink glimpse of her Taichou the entire day. "Good," She thought scornfully. "Let him be as miserable as I am." Yet, she got very little enjoyment from that thought. Him being miserable.

She walked home in the cold rain, soaking her uniform and plastering her hair against her skin. By that time, she didn't feel angry anymore, simply sad. He didn't trust her to take care of herself or him. She'd hurt him with her silence and didn't know how to make amends. She'd returned the flower pins he'd given her to look after back in a delicate white box on a soft cushion. She hadn't left a note, but knew that nothing she could write would help things blow over. She could only hope it would open the door a small crack.

Immediately, she removed her wet clothes and wrapped a warm silk robe around herself, drying off her hair with a towel. Discouraged and disheartened, she went to her room to retire. There was still a great deal of work to be done. Lighting a candle, she was given a small shock.

Piled on her futon were several large books. A piece of parchment lay on the topmost book of the highest stack. Before reading the note, she glanced at a few of the titles. _Advance Kidou Techniques, Advanced Protection Spells, Kidou Theory._ The list went on.

_Nanao,_

_Study hard. I'll be counting on you._

_Shunsui Taichou_

Nanao smiled slightly and despite her weariness, dressed once more. She grabbed the notes she'd written up during her research that afternoon and kept them close to her chest to shield them from the rain which was already lightening. The trip to his home was short, using Shunpo to keep as dry as possible.

Shunsui was very surprised to see her. Then, he noticed the papers she protected. "Oh." He said, obviously disappointed. "Did you find something important?" He asked, inviting her in.

"Well, a few things yes, but that's not why I'm here. I just thought that if it looked like I was here on business, people wouldn't look twice if they saw me." She explained, setting down the papers quickly.

"The books you got me. If you don't want me to fight, why would you get them for me?"

"Urahara pointed something out to me. I realized that there wasn't anything I could do to stop you from wanting to protect me or putting yourself in danger, so instead, I'm going to help you. I'll make sure that you can do as you wish and watch my back. You were right, Nanao-chan. It is your job to protect me and I remembered that it is my job to make sure that you are able to do so." He shrugged slightly, taking off his hat and setting it aside. He clearly didn't expect to dispel her angry so easily.

"Thank you, Shunsui." She said softly. It was hard to not immediately use his title, but the surprised look on his face was well worth the extra effort.

"You're welcome, Nanao-chan." He returned after his surprise wore off. She moved to him, stretching up for kiss. He gave her one willingly, pulling her close to him. He couldn't hide how relieved he was.

"I was afraid you would never come back to me." He grinned. "I'm just too charming, aren't I?" He asked with a wink.

"You're an overly large, hairy brute who seems to chase anything with breasts and a short skirt. You drink and sleep to much and don't work nearly hard enough. I couldn't possibly tell you why I love you, but I do. And if you ever tell anyone about it, I will deny everything." She promised him with a completely straight face.

"Of course, my beautiful Nanao-chan. I would never think of betraying your trust or love." He grinned devilishly. He knew that he would have to tread softly when it came to his Nanao, but she was well worth the extra effort. The extra time in wooing her.

"Why don't you show me what you've found when you wake up? You look exhausted. Tomorrow we'll get back to work and solve this. Get some sleep, my little Nanao-chan." He urged, his long fingers running up and down her back lightly. "I intend on taking you to the training grounds often in the next few weeks, so I want you at full strength."

"Yes, Taichou." She said, smiling gently. As far as first fights went, theirs had been successful. The make up would be just as wonderful. "Nothing like solving a verbal fight with the promise of physical fights."

"Mm, that'll teach you to be careful what you wish for." He grinned lazily, releasing her to take her papers and lead her to his comfortable bed.

"Thus far I'm quite happy with the wishes I have been granted." She returned, raising her chin slightly. "I'm very careful about what I wish for, Taichou. I'm a strong woman and I can take it."

"Yes, Nanao-chan. I see that now." He agreed, sitting down beside her, making sure she was comfortable. "And I will never doubt you again."


	4. Misunderstood

-1The darkness was almost unbearable. The silence and the cold that it brought, the heavy sense of hopelessness that threatened to choke him. Being unable to move only proved to make matters worse. Unable to occupy the mind with anything but the overwhelming thoughts of the unending, absolute darkness. Not even the tiniest sliver of light penetrated.

There was nothing but his own company and at the best of times, he could hardly stand himself. And yet, if it was dark and quiet, it meant that the crazy scientist wasn't around. That was the only thing that made the darkness bearable. All he did was ask the same series of questions, occasionally spicing the interrogation up with some torture. He could take that though. If only the man knew what he'd been through in the past century, he wouldn't bother with the weak attempts at pain.

If only the Taichou had known what he had suffered, at his hand no less, he would have a better idea of how to torture him. But then, he had already suffered that and was numb to the effects.

That thought brought a pang of new pain. He had promised her he would return in a single month. That deadline was coming soon. Only a few more days to save her life. If he failed, his life would be worthless. He just had to find a way to make it out of here. To either get them to let him go, or to kill them, all of them. They didn't deserve the lives they lead, the lives they took for granted.

The almost inaudible sound of the door sliding open made him cringe it seemed so loud. The flash of dim light sent spikes through his eyes. How long had it been since he had been given any stimulation for his senses? They were grating and painful. The room was bathed in a dim, pure white light.

Then, the oddest thing happened. He felt the restraints at his feet loosen and fall away. Then one hand, a form leaning over him slightly. Finally, his opposite hand and neck were free. Perhaps this was the window of opportunity he had been waiting for.

Jumping up, he pinned the small form to the wall, his arm at the neck, cutting off the flow of air as he pressed against the windpipe. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the extreme light, but the blurry black form had been enough for him to judge the attack. He could feel that the form was smaller, definitely not the man that had been visiting him. He could slowly begin to make out the feminine features, black hair, a softly angular face, high cheek bones flushed with the lack of oxygen and most likely surprise.

The sight of her lilac purple eyes made his own eyes widen and he stumbled back, hitting the table hard and nearly falling back onto it. A name tumbled from his lips in shock before he realized that this was not the one he'd so shockingly mistaken as his Hisako. By then, it was too late to correct for that mistake.

Nanao, furious at being attacked, lashed back. She didn't bother with kidou, she was too angry for that. She flipped his legs up from under him, tossing him over the table, using his own weight against him. Jumping over, she landed with one foot on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. His head was tilted at an odd angle against the base of the steel table.

"Kurotsuchi Taichou assured me that you were acting docile and complacent. I thought that we could talk like two civilized people. Would you rather I invite Kurotsuchi Taichou back inside?" She asked, obviously furious.

"No…I apologize." He gasped out, still trying to catch his breath.

"That's better." She said, letting him up but being more on guard then before. He had been rather lucky he'd backed off when he did. It allowed her to subdue him. Had he persisted, the zanpakuto hidden in her sleeve would have been revealed rather quickly.

Pulling himself up, he sat up on the table and regarded the woman slowly. She looked nothing like the one he'd mistaken her for, except the eyes. They were so similar it was frightening.

"What's your name?" She asked simply, right to the point. His silence was deep and foreboding, his gaze chilling. "What could telling us possibly do? We already have you so at this point, it's just adding a label to a cell." She commented. "Besides, I'm one of the officers that has been assigned to your investigation. If I brought something back to my Taichou, even a tiny amount of information, he would be very pleased with me." Nanao explained, trying to make idle conversation, perhaps allow him to loosen up slightly. Let down his guard.

"What's your name?" He returned, chilling gray eyes watching her every move.

"Fair enough. Ise Nanao." She offered him, her own eyes cold and calculating. She was already running through the workings of the conversation to bring it where she wanted it to go.

"Ise Nanao…Ise Nanao…" He murmured it several times, as if trying to analyze it. "Interesting composition. Short staccato followed by a beautiful flow. A very fitting name I think." He said, voice thoughtful. "Who is it that claims you, Ise Nanao?"

"Claims me?" She asked, the warning in her voice clear.

"Well yes, surely a beautiful woman such as yourself is claimed by someone. Perhaps your Taichou?" He asked, indicating the badge on her arm. "Is that how it works these days?"

"How what works?" She asked with a growl, her eyes darkening.

"For every Taichou to receive their own, personal plaything?"

His goal had been to rile her up, to make her angry enough to get careless, perhaps offer some sort of information that might help him escape. Yet, it wouldn't be until he woke up again that he would realize he'd gone to far with this particular woman.

He finally woke to a soft tisking. "Come on now. Wakey, wakey!" Someone was calling, the voice deep. "You have a lot of explaining to do." His skull was throbbing in pain. He didn't particularly feel like waking up at the moment.

"My little Nanao-chan, she hit's hard, eh?" A large face loomed over him, unshaven and shadowed under a large straw hat.

"So I was right?" His own voice sounded small and weak to him. Perhaps he'd been hit so hard his hearing was going.

"Hardly. Nanao-chan is quite the opposite of my plaything." He grinned, standing straight and letting the full force of the bright room flood his eyes. "She's a hard working woman who earned her position through that work and in no other way. In fact, it is I who have had to work for her affections. She plays a mean game of 'hard to get'." The man continued, almost rambling.

"Still does most of the time. I have a hard enough time getting the woman to relax at all. Your little comment is going to set me back quite a bit. I hope you realize that. My poor little Nanao-chan will fret and worry that I've given her my affections due to her rank and not her personality. I will have to woo her all over again. But I can handle it. She's worth the effort. Perhaps flowers, a secret meeting at the lake under the moon light."

"Will you please shut up?"

"Can't you just imagine it? A cute little sun dress, those blushing cheeks, soft skin. How beautiful flowers look in her black hair, such a perfect contrast."

"What is with you? Are you some sort of stalker?" If he could have managed to stand up and hit him, he would have. Oh, would he have loved that. Instead, he just continued on as if he hadn't heard the objections at all.

"Such a wonderful feeling. To hold the one you love. To feel their heart beat against you, the way they look at you. The tone in their voice, the smile and the looks that are reserved for you and you alone. For so long you can search for it in all the wrong places but when you find it, you know it. It's the only thing you'll ever need." The big man said with a wistful sigh.

"Please! Shut up!" He yelled, even at the expense of his own comfort.

"What?" He asked, managing to act like he had been unaware of his annoying topic choice. "Am I bothering you? Have I, perhaps, found the topic of conversation that sends pangs of jealousy through your very being. The topic that makes your heart ache? Well, that was the discovery of my beautiful, intelligent Nanao-chan." He trilled happily.

"See, she realized that you'd mistaken her for someone else. Hisako? Was that her name. A lovely name indeed. It was then that she realized that you'd attacked people who secretly had couples. Amazing that you would figure it out. Nanao-chan and myself. Urahara and his little kitten. Though, you really did botch with Nemu. Mayuri cares not for her."

"Yes, so I noticed. Anyway, I wasn't attacking with that intent. It just so happened that the freak and the homemaking shopkeeper were already on my hit list. Getting ones that could be close to them were just wonderful bonuses." He spat out. "Don't flatter yourself. That a woman such as her could ever love you. But you love her and that was enough to make her a target. Too bad I didn't succeed. Can you imagine how I would have torn your world apart?"

"Mm, indeed you would have. However, that would have been very bad for you. You see, had Nanao-chan been lost to me, my only thought would have been killing the person who harmed her. That night you were captured, it was her who decided to bind you rather than kill you. Do you have any idea how easy it would have been for her to kill you?"

The only response he got with that was a dark glare of hatred.

"So tell me. Who is Hisako, this woman who you would kill for and where is she?" He could see the man's relaxed, almost playful demeanor harden. "All of our patience is running out when it comes to you." He warned. "Who are you, where did you come from and what have we done to wrong you?"

For along few moments he debated. If he told, would they destroy him anyway? Would they help? Or just put him back where he'd been and forget about them for another couple hundred years?

"Tetsuya." He offered, his growl telling him how much it pained him to release the information. "I'm a mod soul, created by Urahara Kisuke. The body I'm in is a gigai, also created by Urahara, back when he headed the development department. We were merely tools to be used. There were ten of us all together, to go with the ten gigai he was testing. For that I hate him. When he left, all of his experiments at the time, not joined with the current mad scientist heading the department, were sealed away. That freak sealed all ten of us in a deep dark floor of the labs. For that, I hate him."

"Finally, all of you. You go on with your lives, pretending that nothing is wrong. We're just artificial so you don't care about what happens to us. As long as you get to run your perfect little lives up here. You-"

"Now, now. Don't go judging what you haven't observed. First of all, the rest of us had no idea what was going on. That time was very turbulent for us. Things were hectic. As for Mayuri, well the rest of us can't be held responsible for the insane things that go on behind his closed doors." He nodded thoughtfully, leaning back against the wall, lowering his head to hide his eyes under the rim of his hat.

"I can see where you would be angry, naturally. I would be rather miffed as well. However, that wouldn't put me on a killing rampage such as the one you displayed. Who is Hisako?" He persisted. He stood up suddenly, looking rather sheepish. "Oh! I almost forgot my dear, NANAO-CHAN!" He yelled the last, calling his fukutaichou in.

She was clearly unhappy with having to be in his presence again. Her eyes were dark and cloud seemed to follow her in. Seeing her in such a hostile state almost made him want to apologize. She stood near the door, chilling him with her gaze.

"Please, continue with your story." Shunsui urged happily.

"Hisako is the one I love. She was another of the mod souls who was trapped in the room with us. In the beginning, one decided to end his life immediately. He held out no hope that one day the room might be reopened. Three died shortly after, defects in the designs of their gigai. Another mod soul was simply faulty and began to go slowly insane. We had to put him out of his misery for our own safety. Slowly, the others faded away until it was just Hisako and I. Recently, she began to grow weary of her life."

"She said that she loved me, but that she couldn't continue on like that. She wanted to die. To end all of the suffering. I seem to be the only of the ten who was built well enough to retain my full strength through the century of our captivity. When one is desperate enough, it's amazing the strength you can manage."

"The floor we were banished to is huge. Mostly dark. Even with ten of us there was no way of knowing the extent of it. What possibilities for escape there might be even though many of us did look for a long time. I found one. I managed to work my way to a small access hall. It led me out one of the many hidden back doors of the 12th division headquarters. Hisako is not strong enough to make the hard journey. It would have been equally as hard to protect her if we had been caught."

"I told her to wait for me. One month. I made her promise. One month alone in that dark hell. If I did not return, I was either dead, or unable to return to her. If that was the case, then she should end her existence. It would be far less painful." Both Nanao and Shunsui could hear the pain he tried so hard to hide.

"You know, you're pretty lucky that you were put away where you were, when you were." Shunsui pointed out, almost idly.

Immediately, Tetsuya's gaze turned deadly. "Excuse me?"

"Not too long ago there was a rather large group of mod souls that were destroyed. At least, in this instance, you had a change to survive, and survive you did." He pointed out.

"I haven't exactly made a good argument for being left alive now, have I?" He asked bitterly.

"No…not exactly." Nanao bit out, still angry.

"Then so be it. I did what I had to in order to help the woman I love. I would rather die than go on living, knowing that I've failed her."

"Why? When did the deadline pass?" Shunsui asked casually.

"Three days from today."

"Taichou. Are you really going to allow him to get away with this?"

"Get away with it? Certainly not. But there's no reason why we have to let his mate suffer." He stated reasonably. "But sadly, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay in here for a little while longer. Nanao-chan?" He offered, waving a hand toward the door.

The two left him alone once more. They'd left the lights on and his restraints off. Perhaps he had been wrong about the shinigami in general. These two seemed to be decent enough. He rubbed his still sore jaw, head still throbbing. If not easily rattled.

Urahara scratched his head thoughtfully beneath his hat. "Mm, I see. It all makes quite a bit of sense now." He flipped open his fan and began waving it briskly. "I had been working on several different types of gigai when I was exiled. His must have been the multi-user. Make it a little easier to keep gigai on hand for more than one shinigami. Change the face, change the user. However, the fault was the power. As we saw. It was quite a match to even the more powerful squad members."

"I had no idea what had happened to all of my research after I left. I certainly hadn't imagined that they would be locked away, still fully aware and awake. That would be rather unpleasant."

"Although I don't like it, I can understand why he might have been so eager to lash out at you." Nanao agreed. "I was angry at him at first. He said some rather…distasteful things. But, after knowing the whole story, I can see how he might come to the desperate actions he took."

"Mm, it is rather sad indeed. Since I am in part responsible, I will make the arrangements you have asked. Thank you for letting me know. I know how inconvenient it is for you to make these trips. Though, it must have been nice to come on your own? No annoying distractions." He grinned.

"Indeed. My Taichou is very hard to look after."

"But you do so well." Urahara assured her. "Such a good mother figure. If anyone needs it, it's Kyoraku. So, you make sure to take good care of him."

"I will." She assured him, standing from his table with a formal bow. "And thank you again. I will let you know ahead of time when we are ready on our end."

"Very well. Bye bye, Nanao-chan." He called, waving happily as Tessai escorted her to the door.

"Nanao-chan, you're back!" Shunsui said happily, drawing her up into his arms and sweeping her inside.

"Taichou, what are you doing in my home?" She asked, scrunching up her face for the reign of kisses.

"Waiting for you to get back." He said simply, placing her back on her feet. "I wanted to see you in your casual clothes before you changed back into your uniform." He grinned. "Is that so bad of me?"

She floundered for an answer. He brushed back her hair before elegantly sweeping her off her feet. "Don't worry Nanao-chan. I know you're still uncomfortable with our hidden love. I understand. But have no fear, I will keep you safe and hidden. It is the least I can do."

"Perhaps he was right." She commented, allowing him to hold her in his arms.

"What?" He asked, clearly confused and caught off guard by her comment.

"Perhaps I do take this life for granted. Take you for granted. Do you wish you had more?" She asked, looking up at him with her thoughtful purple eyes. "Do you wish that I was-"

He stopped her with a kiss, his dark eyes capturing her gaze with one of his boyish grins. "Nanao-chan, I wish for nothing more than you give me."

"I just wonder. Do I take you for granted?"

"I really don't know what to say. I only had a speech prepared for the opposite of this. I was ready to reassure you that I wasn't using you and that you'd gained your position all on your own. This…..I am totally unprepared for." He admitted lamely.

She shook her head gently before laying it against his broad shoulder. Her bangs tickled his neck slightly. Settling down on a cushion, he settled her on his lap. She fit so perfectly against him. He wondered why it had taken him so long to realize that his boyish infatuation was something more than just that.

"I shouldn't be using you the way I am. For my own pleasure in hidden rooms and shadowed corners. I should be woman enough to admit that I'm yours to the world. Or, I shouldn't be allowed to have you at all. Instead of this indecisive ninny that I am." She sighed. He didn't much care for the way she was berating herself. She was being overly harsh.

"Nanao-chan, you silly, silly woman. It isn't like that at all. I thought I'd already explained this to you. I'm perfectly happy with you the way you are. I couldn't ask for anything more, even if I wanted to. I don't feel like I'm being used at all. I'm happy just to have you. I had already gotten used to the fact that you would never accept me."

"I'd told myself that I would never accept you. You were lucky I had a moment of weakness."

"Dare I believe that my Nanao-chan is teasing me?" He asked, with exaggerated surprise.

"It is my misfortune to be assigned to the least intelligent of the Taichou." She sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"But you fell in love with him." He pointed out with a very blatant tone of satisfaction. "But no, I must not blame you for that. Who could resist my charm?" She could hear the grin in his voice.

"You really are impossible, Taichou."

"That's what I have you for, to keep me in line."

"I certainly do try my best." She assured him, closing her eyes and letting him hold her close against him.

"And I won't be taking that, or you, for granted, my dear Nanao-chan." He promised.


	5. A Promise Kept

-1"Your punishment for your crimes against Seireitei and it's allies will be exile. However, due to our own ignorance in your imprisonment, we can not send you to the usual exile lands. You will be sent, instead, to the living world. You will be allowed to keep the current gigai you embody. Do you understand this ruling?" Yamamoto asked, his smoky voice raised to allow all assembled to hear.

The man, who they now knew as Tetsuya, only watched. His gaze was stoic, taking the punishment handed to him without objection. He knew that he deserved it, for his attacks against the Shinigami, some of them not even responsible for his imprisonment. Despite his outwardly passive appearance, his mind had been on one thing for the last couple of days. Tomorrow would be the day his Hisako would give up. The two he had confessed to had barely spoken to him since he'd told them. They had advised him on the proceedings for his trial and such, otherwise…silence.

Not that he could blame them. Especially the woman. He had been rather out of line. He had seen bits and pieces of the true relationship the two had, though they tried hard to hide it. It was far from what he'd assumed. A part of him felt the need to apologize, but that would make it uncomfortable for all involved. Besides, it seemed that all of those formalities had been taken care of as more of an unspoken understanding.

At least the Taichou and Fukutaichou that had taken care of him seemed to understand. He couldn't understand why they were so forgiving and kind to him. They'd made sure his accommodations were much more comfortable and far from the twelfth squad labs where he'd been locked up for the last century. They had also been the ones to suggest that his punishment be a bit more mellow than what was originally in mind for him.

The two were even gracious enough to accompany him to the real world. They had arranged for a way to provide for himself as well as a place to stay. It wasn't much, the woman had told him, but it would help him get on his feet.

Nanao, he reminded himself. Her name was Nanao. He was trying to remember that they were more than just Shinigami. Nanao and her Taichou, in particular, had been nicer to him then they needed to be. It had been their idea to set him up with work and home, otherwise he would have been tossed through the Senkai gate to fend for himself. He owed them at least a small amount of respect.

They had both opted to remain as they were rather than take up gigai and have to wear clothes to fit the part. It would only be a short trip. Make sure he was settled in and go home. He doubted he would ever hear from them again after that. They had no reason to keep in contact after all. He wouldn't if he was in their position.

"We are going to introduce you to one of our contacts here in Karakura town." Nanao informed him as they walked toward their destination. "Should anything dire arise that requires Seireitei to intervene, he will be the one you speak to. He's also a substitute Shinigami so he is more than capable of handing said problems. His father runs a medical clinic, which is where you will be working until you can find a more permanent job." She continued, all business.

Although he was listening to her every word, it didn't show. Whatever they had planned for him would be better than the hole he'd spent the last century in. It was what it was and there was no sense in bemoaning his fate. They were being very gracious given the circumstances.

As they neared the clinic, Ichigo was waiting for them, leaning against the low fence at the front. He looked annoyed at having to do this, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright, can we just get this over with. I'd rather my dad not know I was up to anything. You're the big brother of a class mate who's just lost his job, got it? Don't forget it either. And you'd better work hard or my dad will never trust me again." He warned, right away establishing his authority in all of this.

"You and this chick have put a serious pain in my ass." He grumbled, leading them inside.

"Chick? Is there someone else you've hired?" Tetsuya asked, a little confused. Shunsui waited outside with Nanao, who was oddly smiling.

"Yeah, Hisako something or other." He said, waving it off as he closed the door behind them.

"I missed you, Tetsuya." A soft voice said from the side of the room. He could hardly breath as the woman of his dreams came into the light.

Her blond hair had a soft wave, kept now in a bun at the nape of her neck, a few loose strands tucked behind her hair. The yellow day dress she wore made her deep purple eyes bright and brilliant. Her skin was still slightly pale and sickly, her form thin beneath the dress that she couldn't quite fill out. Still, she was much improved from the skeleton he'd left a month ago.

"Uh, yeah…her." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and left quickly, not wanting to witness the reunion he'd been warned about.

"Hisako." He breathed, moving toward her quickly. His hand moved to her warm cheek, drinking in the loving gaze she laid on him. "How did you get here?" He asked, barely able to form the words.

"Two days ago a young Shinigami named Hitsugaya found me. Three others were with him. His own subordinate and another Taichou and fukutaichou. I never caught their names, but I would certainly recognize him again. He was a big man in pink." She smiled, finding the whole idea amusing. "Hitsugaya said that his helping them find me had been a personal favor to the big man. They had to, essentially, sneak me out. They brought me here and Ichigo's father nursed me back to health." She explained, her hands on his chest, fingers splayed wide. Her slim body pressed against him.

"I wanted to see you right away but they said to be patient and I would get to be with you soon. It was well worth the wait. Kurosaki says that I can help in the clinic as well if I'd like. The exercise will do me good he thinks." She smiled. After a few moments she touched his chin with the pad of her finger, eyes sparkling. "Don't you have anything to say?"

Moving his head slightly, he kissed her finger, then pulled her in close to kiss her lips. "Hisako, I thought I would never see you again. I have no idea what to say in the slightest. I never imagined being able to have a life with you. Stupidly…I thought you would be dead. I didn't think they would go looking for you. I didn't think they would be allowed to save you." He murmured.

She smiled and shook her head. "I knew it would work out." She assured him. "It had to. A real life has been so long in coming, it was bound to happen."

He laughed slightly and shook his head, still unable to take his eyes off of her. "How could you still be so optimistic? After all that we've been through?" He asked gently.

"Because of you. Thinking about where I was at the time, what was happening would have had me dead a long time ago. Instead, I kept thinking about what our lives could be. How happy we would be together if we ever got out of that dark hole. It was the only way to keep sane." She explained with a soft shrug. "And I was right. Things will be alright now. You'll see."

"But I didn't keep my promise for you. If that man hadn't called in a favor and went to get you, you'd be dead." He argued.

"Just because you didn't come get me yourself doesn't mean you didn't keep your promise. You gave up your pride and your need for revenge for me. You told them what had happened, gave yourself over to their punishment. If you hadn't done that, they wouldn't have known that I even existed or where to look for me. In the end, you did come and get me. You may not have done it with a direct request or order, but you sent people to come and get me. And they made sure I was safe until you could come and see me yourself. That's good enough for me. You've always been good enough for me." She assured him, kissing him lovingly.

"I couldn't love anyone more than I love you, Hisako." He smiled. "But if you'll excuse me for a moment…there's someone that I have to thank." He said, kissing her again before releasing her from his arms.

The two were still waiting outside. Apparently they'd known he would want to come and talk to them. They hadn't noticed that he was coming however, seemingly distracted by each other. Shunsui was standing before Nanao, teasing the tips of her hair as he stood over her. She was smiling, ever so slightly, nodding at whatever he was saying.

Catching him from the corner of her eye, she immediately took a step away and cleared her throat, nodding in his direction. The big man smiled, unperturbed by the distractions, unlike his fukutaichou who seemed quiet embarrassed.

"Why did you do that? She says that you called in a favor to find and smuggle her out. That was taking a rather big risk, wasn't it?"

He smiled and shrugged his broad shoulders. "If we'd told the whole tale of who you were and where you'd come from there was no guarantee that we would have been allowed to find her. I didn't think that it was worth the chance."

"What wasn't worth the chance?"

"Not being with the one you love." He explained, winking at Nanao who ducked her head and intently examined her feet.

"We both decided that it would be worth the risk of getting in trouble. Even if we were caught, there would have been no choice but to let her go at that point. Either way, we fulfilled our objective and Hisako would be safe." Nanao added.

"You're both making it sound so insignificant, what you did for me." Tetsuya said, almost annoyed at their reactions. "Like you went to go pick up groceries for me."

"We're decent people. What else would you expect?" Shunsui asked with a raised brow.

"I expected that you would just leave her to die." He admitted freely, honestly.

"If we didn't protect those who needed us the most, we wouldn't be very good guardians of the innocent, would we?" Shunsui pointed out. Nanao nodded in agreement, pushing up her glasses as she looked up at him.

"As my Taichou explained. Everyone deserves a chance to be with the one they love." She reiterated. "And yours is waiting for you. We need to be getting back to Soul Society."

"We do?" Shunsui asked, pouting slightly.

"Mm, paperwork." She said simply, nodding to him. Shunsui waved and laid a hand on the small of her back, leading her away. He could hear the two of them arguing about the paperwork that would need to be done when they returned and who would be doing it.

"Thanks." He said to their backs before heading back into the clinic where Hisako would be waiting for him.

With the paperwork finished and the whole ordeal behind them, Shunsui retired with Nanao to her own private quarters. He relaxed and waited patiently while she bathed and changed into something more comfortable. He discarded his haori's for the sake of comfort as he relaxed on her futon. It was already dark outside, the stars and moon shining brightly over Seireitei, as if congratulating them on their accomplishment.

Shunsui had to admit that he did feel accomplished. Not just for solving the mystery of the assassin, that would have come with time he was sure. But for solving the assassin's problem. He'd helped two lovers reunite and that was a very good feeling. He smiled as his Nanao-chan joined him, sitting down beside him and handing him a cup of tea.

He took a small sip and smiled happily, letting out a contented sigh. "So, adorable Nanao-chan. How do you feel about all of this?" He asked curiously, pulling her to him, forcing her to lay against his chest under the protection of his arm.

"I feel like we've done some good, even if we would get in trouble should anyone find out."

"I'm proud of you, Nanao-chan. You didn't let that get in your way. I thought for sure you would have objected slightly, at least pointed out the risk we were taking."

"I had thought of it. But you were right that something needed to be done. It made a good learning experience I think. After seeing what those two had gone through, I know better than to take for granted the things that I have. The people in my life who care about me. Mainly you." She admitted, taking another sip of tea. She looked so different with her hair down, he wasn't sure he would ever get used to seeing his Nanao-chan so relaxed.

"I'm glad you've finally come to that realization." He said, somewhat proudly.

"What do you mean, finally? You could have helped a little in the relationship too you know. Instead of acting like a little boy with a crush. You could have been more of an adult." She pointed out, nudging his ribs with her elbow.

"That's true, I could have." He agreed. "But, as with our assassin and his maiden. It all worked out in the end, don't you think?"  
"I don't know. We're going to have to wait for the end to determine that." She pointed out, ever the rational thinker.

"But I should have known." He laughed, the rumble deep in his chest. "My sweet Nanao-chan, I hope you never change."

"And risk the chance of not being able to annoy you? I think not." She said, taking another sip of tea, the steam fogging her glasses for a brief moment. It gave him enough time to sneak in for a kiss.

"My lovely, beautiful, feisty Nanao-chan." He smiled against her lips.

"Yes, Taichou?"

"Oh, nothing." He grinned and squeezed her against him, hearing her sharp intake of breath as her tea sloshed and threatened to spill over.

"Taichou." She said sternly, looking up at him from over the rim of her glasses.

He laughed and loosened his grip on her. "You haven't changed yet." He observed, kissing the top of her still wet head.

He was looking forward to whatever their relationship might have to offer. They had both learned from Tetsuya and Hisako. They could keep their relationship a secret so long as they didn't take each other for granted. He had come to realize that his Nanao-chan had not been changed by his affections. She was still a fierce fukutaichou of the thirteen squads. A force to be reckoned with whether he wanted to admit it or not. He had started training with her as promised and knew that she studied Kidou nightly. He had learned well that though he was worried for her, that in no way meant that she wasn't capable all of the sudden. She was an addition to his life, not an accessory.

A beautiful addition. He watched her quietly as she fairly ignored him, sipping her tea against the warmth of his body. She'd known that all the time, he was sure. In her own way, she'd tried to show him, but it had taken her straightforward anger to make him see it. A slap in the face as it was. He trusted she would continue to keep him in line, just as she always had.

Just like Tetsuya and Hisako, as long as he had her, he could endure anything. There would be trying times ahead and between the two of them, they would make it through. With a happy sigh, she snuggled into him and set aside her tea, closing her eyes.

Happily, he held her against him. Tomorrow would be another day and the start of another story, another hardship. For now he would enjoy the quiet and the calm. The presence of his Nanao-chan. For tonight, at least, all was right with the world.


End file.
